What is a mnemonic phrase? This is a question our customers often ask us. Let\u2019s figure it out. <\/p>\n\n
A mnemonic phrase is a group of words that provides access to your assets and serves as a backup for your crypto wallet. It is also often called a seed phrase or BIP39 phrase. A phrase can contain 12, 18, or 24 words. The most common options are 12-word and 24-word phrases. <\/p>\n\n
Let\u2019s imagine that you did not create a backup of the crypto wallet you used on your smartphone, and then you lost that smartphone. How can you access your funds? Unfortunately, the answer is: you cannot. In the world of cryptocurrency, there is no centralized authority that can help restore access to your assets the way a bank can help with a bank account. Losing access and losing the backup in crypto means the end for your assets. They will remain forever on the wallet you lost. The only thing you will be able to do is look at them in a blockchain explorer. <\/p>\n\n
At the moment, 4.8 million BTC are no longer in circulation, which is around 25.5% of all Bitcoin. Unfortunately, there is no exact statistic on how many people have lost their assets, but news websites often publish loud headlines about someone losing a large amount of money because of carelessness. <\/p>\n\n
A securely stored mnemonic phrase is the number one thing you should take care of after creating your crypto wallet. It allows you to restore access to your funds on another smartphone or hardware wallet if needed. <\/p>\n\n
Unfortunately, this technology also has its drawbacks. Anyone who gets access to your phrase can also get access to your funds. That is why it is extremely important to keep your phrase secret and never share it with third parties. <\/p>\n\n
There are several storage options:
The most reliable method is to store it using a mnemonic backup plate. A mnemonic backup plate is usually made of durable metal plates that are resistant to corrosion and high temperatures. <\/p>\n\n
| Hardware wallets | Desktop wallets | Mobile wallets |
| Ledger Nano X<\/a><\/td> | Electrum<\/td> | Trust Wallet |
| Ledger Nano S<\/a><\/td> | Jaxx | Safepal Pro<\/td><\/tr> |
| Trezor Model T<\/a><\/td> | Coinomi<\/td> | Mycelium Wallet<\/td><\/tr> |
| Trezor One<\/a><\/td> | Atomicwallet<\/td> | Ownbit<\/td><\/tr> |
| KeepKey<\/a><\/td> | Bither<\/td> | Blue Wallet<\/td><\/tr> |
| BitBox 02 Multi edition<\/a><\/td> | Exodus<\/td> | Enjin Wallet<\/td><\/tr> |
| BitBox 02 Bitcoin-only edition<\/a><\/td> | Samourai Wallet <\/td> | Bread Wallet<\/td><\/tr> |
| CoolWallet Pro<\/a><\/td> | Coin Wallet <\/td> | <\/td><\/tr> |
| CoolWallet S<\/a><\/td> | Blockstream Green<\/td> | <\/td><\/tr> |
| Keystone Essential<\/a><\/td> | Wasabi Wallet<\/td> | <\/td><\/tr> |
| Keystone Pro<\/a><\/td> | <\/td> | <\/td><\/tr> |
| ELLIPAL Titan<\/a><\/td> | <\/td> | <\/td><\/tr> |
| Safepal S1<\/a><\/td> | <\/td> | <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\nBIP39 word list |